In this story by Anthony Doer, an elderly Chinese seed keeper faces “progress” in the form of a massive dam that will submerge her ancestral village and destroy her community’s history, cultural identity and way of life. Although most fellow villagers jump at the offer of a discounted modern apartment and either a cash settlement or government job, she finds it hard to let go. When forced to leave, the lost connection with the past begins to affect her memory. Themes include progress vs. tradition, the generational divide, dislocation, familiar places and objects as an anchor for memories and identity.

In this story by Anthony Doerr, the life of a blind shell expert living alone with his dog on an island off the coast of Kenya is thrown into chaos. The aging man becomes world famous when the venom of a deadly cone snail cures two people suffering from malaria. Ailing people from all over the world converge on his tiny island, causing him to lose his privacy, much of his collection, the life of his son, and almost his own life. Themes include isolation, living in nature, the dangers and benefits of sea creatures, media power, desperation, hope.

In this Anthony Doerr story, a thirty-year-old Montanan hunting guide gets more than he bargained for after marrying an eighteen-year-old magician’s assistant. He is a “man’s man” whose whole world is a one-room cabin in a secluded valley. She proves to have psychic powers and can perceive and share memories of the life or final moments of the dead or dying (both animal and human) by touching them. As grieving families increasingly ask for her help to provide closure, he labels her a grifter and cheat. Themes include love, nature, isolation, survival, self-discovery, paranormal abilities, narrow-mindedness, death as a transition.